pineapple love crumble

March 2, 2010

There’s no point in hoping I’ll ever go completely raw in my diet- there are some things (like steak) that will always be on my plate that just don’t seem to fit with the “uncooked” idea. (Yes, steak tartare is wonderful but I can’t make that for myself. Get real.) I really like trying out new recipes, and if it’s healthy for me then that’s just a mega bonus. It seems that many of these raw recipes require fancy kitchen gadgets that I lust over. Since I’ve acquired a food processor I look for any chance to use it (even though it’s a massive pain in the ass to clean.) This recipe would be a pain to make without it- but I won’t say it’s not possible because I’m sure someone out in internet land would do their best to prove me wrong.

Ani Phyo‘s book Ani’s Raw Food Desserts: 85 Easy, Delectable Sweets and Treats is on my list for next time I’m at Barnes and Noble, but in the mean time I’ll borrow the adaptation of her recipe for Pineapple Love Crumble from my friend, Lisa (because she made it and shared it with me and yes she already wrote a post about it but I can’t help wanting to share, it’s that great!)

What you will need:

Loaf Pan or something comparable

Top and Bottom Crust:

2 c. assorted nuts (I chose cashews, pecans, walnuts and almonds.)

2 Tbsp. agave nectar, honey or maple syrup

Seeds from 1 vanilla bean or 1 Tbsp vanilla (Lisa says alcohol free, but I’ll tell you- I couldn’t find that shit anywhere. Go for the beans. 2 vanilla beans in the organic section of Wegmans ran about 6 bucks, and from what I understand that’s not bad.)

First, all of the nuts and vanilla bean seeds (do you know how hard it is to get seeds out of a fucking vanilla bean?) go into the food processor. I used closer to 3 cups of nuts because I knew my pan was bigger than the loaf pan Lisa used. However, I thought I was being nifty and didn’t measure the agave nectar- instead I just dribbled it in at the top of the processor as it ran. End result: too much went in, and it’s not going to crumble. (Yeah, maybe I was imagining myself on Food Network for a second, with Giada next to me saying “Wow, Kyle, aren’t you a great cook?!” Aaaand look where that gets us. Lesson: measure, dummy.) Crumble (or spread, if you’re fancy like me) this on the bottom.

Making the middle goo is easy- throw the ingredients, minus pineapple, into a blender and let it whir away until creamy. (Add water as needed.)

Next up: cut the pineapple into not huge chunks. (My opinion: if you don’t use a fresh pineapple for this you’re a fool.) I cut one up and used about 3/4 of it. (What to do with the rest of it? Put it in your green smoothie!) That gets mixed in with the cashew/ coconut oil/ agave/ water mixture. (Oh, did I mention I may have added a tad too much water? It seems a bit runny…) Anywho, all of this is mixed up together and slathered in the pan on top of the bottom crust.

Then you add the top crust. Here’s where I ran into some problems. We’ve established that this goop I’ve made is not going to crumble… and spreading thick glop over an already slightly runny middle is just not possible. So I take chunks and flatten it out in my hands and stick it around on the top to form a crust that covers. (Sorry for no mid-progress photos here, but I expect you to understand that my hands were sticky and gross and there was no way I was picking up the camera.)

The fully assembled package! At this point I’ve licked all the goo off my fingers- this stuff is so good, you don’t have to worry about the “don’t eat the batter because it’s not cooked”! The excitement to dig in and see if I massacred the recipe or not is very high; but it needs to chill for a couple hours and set up before we dig in.

Although patience is not really a strength of mine, I managed to keep myself busy for a little over 3 hours… and then ran downstairs to the fridge to collect my prize. Sadly I found that the middle just hadn’t firmed up much and it’s still a mucky mess. Tastes great, but we’ll put it into the freezer. That should make it just about right.

Here we are, the next day, frozen and perfect. I force my roommate, Ken, to try some without telling him what is in it. We’re standing in the kitchen eating dessert on Sunday at 11am and the verdict? YUM! I’ve shared it with some other friends as well and the general consensus is that this is delicious, and will be even better in the middle of the summer, fresh in from a day out on the boat. With a gin and tonic. I’m rather anxious to give that a shot, I must say…

This looks awesome! If only I could convince the fiance to eat pineapples… Still going to have to give this one a shot soon. By the way, I really like the Macintosh food processor bowl in the background!

http://www.thrive-style.com Lisa

Yum! Let me show you a way to get the seeds out of a vanilla pod—it can be super easy.
I was thinking you could also do this with other fruit—strawberries or even mixed berries?

Kyle

I’m thinking other fruits would work well too- Louis, definitely give it a shot with anything else, but see if you can get her to try pineapple (how can you not like pineapple?!?!)
As for the seeds in the vanilla pod- I’ve seen them do it on Food Network all the time- slice it down the middle and scrape the seeds out… Lisa, if you have a better way then PLEASE share!
(As for the Apple sticker- I got the computer and FP in the same weekend, it just seemed like the right spot for one of the stickers to go. )